Tide Seeks Nose Tackle to Anchor Saban Defense

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - The nose tackle has emerged as the anchor of new Alabama coach Nick Saban's defensive plan. As spring training winds down, it's still uncertain who will fill that role.

Third-year sophomore Lorenzo Washington, redshirt freshman Brian Motley and sophomore Byron Walton are names currently in the mix for the position, which must clog the middle, a crucial role in Saban's scheme.

But Washington, a 6-foot-5, 285-pounder who attended Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia before enrolling at Alabama, underwent pectoral surgery in January and has not been involved in contact.

Walton, who is 6-foot-3 and 306 pounds, also has been set back by a broken hand.

And Motley, a 6-foot-1, 284-pounder from Autaugaville, is a converted center who was asked to become a defensive tackle just a day before spring drills began.

With the uncertainties of spring, two defensive line signees from Hoover, Kerry Murphy and Josh Chapman, could be factors in August.

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